


one more day

by Pence



Series: October 2019 Prompts [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Dubious Consent, Flashbacks, Gavin Reed Whump, Hypnotism, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Pancakes, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Whump, Vampire Turning, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-11-28 14:50:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20968370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pence/pseuds/Pence
Summary: “You want to fall?” The stranger asked, dry amusement coating the low hum of his voice. The innocent question drew Gavin’s gaze to his side, jaw set.“No, I just like hanging out on the wrong side of the railing,” Gavin hissed, shuffling a half step away upon realizing how close the stranger leaned. How he watched Gavin with such… interest.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for not posting prompts for a few days, I've been busy! 
> 
> This is to cover the last few days and will cover two prompts: "Hypnotism" and "Teeth". 
> 
> I hope you like it!

Three... Two… One…

_ “Shit.” _

Gavin glared down at the churning river as his heart pounded in his chest. Apparently, his traitorous hands hadn’t gotten the memo that they were supposed to let go at the end of the countdown. The courage he’d managed to cobble together over the last few minutes washed away as his hands gripped the railing painfully tight. At least the metal had warmed since he’d taken vigil upon the ledge--cold no longer biting into his palms.

Leaning back into the railing, Gavin let out a sigh as he willed his pounding heart to slow. He was too much of a stubborn bastard to climb back over the railing and head home. Unpacking his belongings and picking up his cat from Tina’s enough of a humiliating thought that his grip loosened minutely.

“C’mon, Gavin,” he hissed, glaring at the dark waters below. “You can do this. It’ll be over soon.”

Squaring his shoulders, Gavin closed his eyes and counted his breathing. His breath had moistened his scarf after standing in the cold for so long, uninterrupted. The number of cars and pedestrians who had passed in the last half-hour had lodged a laugh in Gavin’s throat, tucked behind the lump that strained his breathing.

The public’s disinterest wasn’t surprising, to be honest. After working for years in law enforcement, he’d responded to far too many public suicides. No one  _ cared _ . No one wanted to break away from the comfort of their daily routine to lend a hand or a kind word to a struggling stranger. Hell, Gavin half-wondered if he was kind enough— _ brave  _ enough—to detour and offer a kind word.

Given that he was  _ literally _ on the edge…  _ he doubted it. _

Releasing a final sigh, Gavin pushed his body weight away from the railing and stared down at the rapid waters. Gavin bit his tongue as he fought back the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks. Even buried, he wouldn’t give his father the satisfaction of seeing Gavin reduced to a sobbing ‘little bitch’.

_ “Three… Two... O—“ _

“Good Evening.”

Gavin swore as his foot slipped on the cement lip of the bridge, toppling forward. His tight grip on the railing yanked painfully on his shoulders as they took the force of his bodyweight. It was a grab on the back of his jacket that kept him from pitching over the edge, pulling him back to the security of the railing with a single tug.

“Well, that was close,” a voice rumbled at his back, so close to his ear that a shiver rattled up his spine. “You should be more careful.”

With little room to maneuver, Gavin whipped his head around to snarl at the stranger, who was continuing to clutch his jacket. To scold them for stopping him from jumping—or  _ falling  _ in this regard, but with the same desired result.

“Get the fuck away from—! “

His voice died on his tongue as he stared into eyes so blue, so icy that they rivalled the gentle snow fluttering over the city. The stranger was tall and broad-shouldered, although the cut of his black peacoat gave him a slender silhouette. Brown hair, so dark it might be midnight in specific lighting, was styled back in a gentle wave—albeit a single curl that rebelled against his forehead.

The stranger’s pale, freckled face dimpled as he released Gavin, taking a step to the side to lean against the railing. “I did not mean to offend. You were about to fall.”

“That’s… That’s the fucking point, asshole,” Gavin snapped after getting over the initial shock, turning to glare down at the waters below. The stranger’s presence at his side settled like a weight in his mind, adding to the nerves securing him to the railing.  _ Fuck _ .

“You want to fall?” The stranger asked, dry amusement coating the low hum of his voice. The innocent question drew Gavin’s gaze to his side, jaw set.

“No, I just like hanging out on the wrong side of the railing,” Gavin hissed, shuffling a half step away upon realizing how close the stranger leaned. How he watched Gavin with such…  _ interest _ . 

Something pulled in Gavin’s gut as the stranger smiled, head cocking to the side as he remained leaning where he was.

“That’s a rather painful way to go,” the stranger hummed, leaning forward to join Gavin in observing the rushing waters below. “A lot of people believe that death happens upon impact—and it does if you’re lucky to hit the water at the right angle. But you’re more likely to snap your neck and drown as you’re carried away. Add to that the freezing waters that will pierce through you like white fire. I do not envy that sort of death.”

Gavin suddenly realized how cold he was as he listened, staring at the river as the stranger spoke. The tight set of his jaw quivered as his teeth chattered, tears frozen to his lashes as they were drawn out by the chilly night air. “Y-yeah? You got fuckin’ experience in jumping off bridges, asshole?”

“I’ve flirted with death many times,” the stranger laughed, catching Gavin’s attention once more. “Nothing has stuck.” The amused, relaxed titter in his voice made the desire to cry rise like bile up Gavin’s throat. The absurdity of humor when applied to the literal ledge Gavin was hanging off of—it made him feel smaller. Vulnerable.

“S-sounds like you fucking suck at k-killing yourself,” Gavin hissed, sniffling. “Why don’t you go jump in front of a—”

The stranger leaned closer, eyes bright as his smile fell into a dimpled smirk. “ _ Have dinner with me. _ ”

Gavin’s mind goes white at the confusing request, unable to break his gaze from the stranger’s even if he wanted to. "What?”

“Give me one more day,” the stranger suggests, voice dropping into a rumbling purr. His hand slides across the railing, brushing his cold fingers across Gavin’s knuckles, continuing to stare into his face. “Jump tomorrow and  _ spend the evening with me. _ ”

The sudden touch and the rumbling thunder of the man’s voice vibrate through Gavin’s body, pooling warmth in his gut. How long had it been since someone had offered him any kind word or tender touch? The sudden, unnatural ache that floods through him loosens Gavin’s tight grip on the railing. 

"Okay."

And Gavin lets go.

Those cool eyes stole the last of Gavin’s breath as he fell into them, fingers scrabbling for a handhold that doesn’t exist. He’s ensnared and dragged through frigid nothingness, unable to differentiate  _ up  _ from  _ down _ . He fears the pain of hitting the bottom, but craves it so intensely that his struggling slows. Gavin Reed lets himself fall—

And comes to with an arm around his waist, a body pressed to his side, and a small diner sitting at the edge of the road like a beacon.

Gavin tensed as they continued their comfortable amble down the sleepy street, pressing closer to the body holding him. His brain felt like putty as he woke slowly, focusing on the crunch of salt beneath their heels and the squelch of black snow under rolling tires.

“Welcome back, my dear,” a voice rumbled from above, vibrating through the chest he pressed against. Gavin isn’t sure what noise leaves his throat, but the gentle squeeze of the large palm on his hip burns like fire. “I understand if you’re confused, but I would like to get you somewhere warm before we talk. Are you hungry?”

Gavin’s brows furrowed as he allowed himself to be pulled to a stop at a crosswalk. More of his weight presses into the stranger holding him, earning a soft chuckle from the man. “…Hungry? I… No, I’m not… hungry.”

They wait on that lonely corner, undisturbed, aside from the occasional car heading for home. Gavin’s knees quivered as the hand at his hip traveled to the small of his back, turning him into a gentle embrace. A shiver quaked up Gavin’s spine as a second hand smoothed up his collar and dipped beneath his scarf, pressing to the pounding vein in his throat.

“When was the last time you ate?”

Gavin stared up at him, blinking against the auras dancing in his vision. “W-hat?” 

He could faintly see the crosswalk light switch from yellow to green in the corner of his eyes, beckoning them. He couldn't move, however, as icy climbed through his limbs and froze him to the spot. The thumb pressed to his throat drew small circles against his pulse.

But when the stranger only smiled and gave a nod of his head towards the street, Gavin was released and moving and—

—and time no longer existed. He passed through everything and nothing. Gavin lends every shred of trust, of  _ himself _ , to the hand pushing him forward by the small of his back.

His wits returned as a bell jingled from somewhere in the fog and warmth slamnmed painfully into his frozen cheeks. The light of the diner hurt his eyes as old fluorescents shined from above and neon signs proclaimed 'OPEN!' across the establishment. 

The smell of greasy bacon was nauseating and felt like it stuck the floor from endless flash-cooking. Aside from a few patrons sitting at the counter and a tired waitress brewing a fresh pot of coffee, they remained unnoticed as they headed to a booth further into the establishment.

“ _ Sit _ .”

Gavin dropped into the seat, head swimming as he stared at a tear in the leather of the booth. The stranger was a dark blur in the corner of his eye as they sat across from him, pale hands folding upon the table. His gaze swam as he glanced at the stranger's knuckles, noticing just how pale the guy was under the bright fluorescents of the diner.

“Did…Did you drug me?” Gavin asked, leaning back into the booth as his gaze followed the stranger's arms up to patient eyes. “What the f-fuck?”

“When would I have had the opportunity to drug you?” the man asked, head cocking to the side. Their waitress wandered over, a pot of coffee in one hand and tablet in the other. She was quickly dismissed by a ‘ _ just coffee _ ’ from Gavin and a  _ ‘we’ll need a few minutes _ ’ from the smiling stranger.

Closing his hands around his freshly-filled mug, Gavin let out a shaky sigh as he greedily took in the heated ceramic. “Dunno. Maybe some time between annoying me at the bridge and feeling me up outside. If you wanted someone to suck you off, you didn’t need to drug me. You’re….”

“Niles.”

Gavin brought the cup up to his lips, brows rising as he took a sip. “I was gonna say gorgeous, but sure.”

The stranger snorted in amusement. “My  _ name _ is Niles.”

“Gavin.”

Niles’ shifted to place his elbows on the table, resting his chin upon his laced fingers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gavin.”

“More of a waste of time,” Gavin muttered. The coffee helped ease the last of the fog from his mind. “Considering I’m planning to off myself once we’re done here.”

“Well,” Niles hummed. “Then I’m glad I had the chance to meet you before then. It will truly be a shame not to have the opportunity again.”

Gavin snorted, placing the mug back to the table with the shake of his head. “Are you some sick freak who gets off on picking up people hanging off bridges? Does the idea of people snapping their necks on ropes and blowing out their brains bet you fired up, Romeo?”

Niles hummed, rolling his chin across his knuckles, head tilting at the question--as if these strange fetishes were anything to consider. “No,” he murmured, eyes dancing in the light of the diner. “But I do find myself drawn to lost souls.”

“So you fancy yourself a hero?”

Gavin watched the curl shift across Niles’ forehead as he shook his head. “Just another lost soul looking for a warm place to sit and a nice conversation.”

Gavin wasn’t sure how to reply to that, continuing to study Niles. He was pretty sure he was being watched with the same clinical scrutiny. He was relieved when the waitress returned and asked if they were ready to order. Gavin shook his head and stared into his cup as Niles ordered a stack of pancakes.

After refilling Gavin’s cup, the two were left alone in what was turning quickly into an uncomfortable silence.

Gavin had half a mind to thank Niles for the coffee, head back the bridge, and hurl himself off when --

“I slit my wrists when I was 33.”

Gavin’s head shot up at the blunt admission, eyes widening in surprise. “What?”

Niles wasn’t looking at him as he spoke and instead stared out into the dark streets of the city, watching the dancing neon of the diner’s light paint across gentle snowdrifts. “I jumped off two bridges in the span of a month when I was 35. I hung myself on my birthday at 36. 

“I know what it takes to become that person clinging to the railing of a bridge,” Niles murmured before Gavin could say anything—not that Gavin could form words if he’d tried. “And I also know much I craved companionship, or someone to just….”

Gavin swallowed, nails tapping nervously against the ceramic of his mug. "Why?"

When Niles let out a questioning hum, Gavin expanded his question. "Why did you try to kill yourself?"

Niles' frowned, turning to stare directly at Gavin, shoulders square. "Why were you hanging off a bridge?"

Neither man spoke the pancakes arrived and placed in front of Niles. Two squares of butter were set next to the fluffy stack in a ceramic ramekin, followed by a jar of warmed syrup. A soft  _ ‘thank you, no thank you _ ’ muttered from Niles when asked if there was anything else they needed.

And once again they are alone.

"...I don't like talking about myself," Gavin muttered in lew of an olive branch. "I just... Shit piles up and I'm just so fucking tired. I've always been tired." 

"Talking helps," Niles hummed, fingers drumming on his knuckles, looking down to the plate in front of him. "In my case, I... Lost  _ people _ and I grew lonely. I didn't like what I was becoming. 

"I just didn't expect ending myself would be so difficult," Niles chuckled lowly.

“I’m not going to form some sort of… morbid comradery just because we both want to die,” Gavin muttered, watching Niles stare at the pancakes with a muted frown. Something danced in the wrinkle of his eyes as the pancakes cooled, remaining untouched in their perfect pile.

“I’m not asking you to,” Niles said, finally breaking his gaze away to look up to Gavin. Pale fingers pressed to the edge of the plate and pushed it across the table. “Just to talk. You should eat something.”

Rolling his eyes, Gavin took up his coffee once more and glared over the rim at Niles. “I already said I’m not—“

Niles interrupted him, staring unabashedly into his eyes. “I know what you said. I was not offering you an option.  _ Eat _ .”

Gavin tensed as his stomach rolled, tightening his gut with pain like a man half-starved. That same, swimming aura danced in his vision as he put the mug back to the table to take up the utensil bundle at his side instead. Niles watched with interest as Gavin carefully unwrapped his fork, using it to carve into the edge of the stack.

Without butter or syrup, the pancakes left a flat taste on his tongue as he took in the first forkful. He’d never really been a breakfast sort of person and especially didn’t enjoy sweet things before the sun rose. Tina had been subject to much of his bitching on the topic of ‘breakroom doughnuts’. About how no ‘self-respecting officer’ should squander their years of training and agility for a fucking French cruller. Of course, this was spoken around the filter of a cigarette—but Gavin never claimed to be “self-respecting”.

Gavin jumped as a knee brushed his own, startling him as he chewed. Niles watched him with interest, leaning forward slightly into the edge of the table. An ankle hooked around his own playfully. “Is it good?”

He forced himself to swallow as one of Niles’ arms disappeared under the table. Gavin swore he felt the barest of touches to his knee. “I-I… Uh, they’re alr—“

“ _ You love them.” _

Gavin flushed red at the sudden salivation in his mouth and the bloom of warmth in his chest. Carving another bite from the pile, Gavin took a second bite and let his eyes fall shut with a soft moan. Gavin chewed as he sank into the seat, wondering when he’d ever tasted anything so good. It reminded him of the pancakes his mother used to make, flooding him with a warmth that pricked tears in his eyes.

As his legs pushed forward in his slouch, the hand at his knee brushed along his thigh.

_ “They make you feel warm and happy.” _

Mom's pancakes hadn’t been anything special. He remembers his mother had used a box mix that has been long discontinued. On rare mornings when she didn’t need to work, Gavin’s mother would set him on the edge of the counter as she mixed the base batter. She would let him stir as she collected the ‘secret ingredients’ that made them go from good to great. 

A teaspoon of cinnamon and three drops of vanilla extract—no more, no less.

Every pancake was perfect, no matter its shape or size or awkward coloring from a skillet with poor heat-distribution. They were something to look forward to. A treat to them both for surviving through another week of school and work. Gavin had been terrified that he’d forgotten the taste after all of these years, but—

_ “You don’t want to die.” _

Gavin tensed, fork stilling against the plate. 

The lingering taste of pancakes on his tongue began to decay, tasting like the rot he'd grown used to smelling as an officer. It made his stomach tighten in disgust as it dissolved to ash in his gut. 

Low music was playing throughout the diner from an ancient jukebox in the corner. There was a brief pause while it switched to a new song. The melody was of his mother's cries, a staccato throughout the piece, his father's screams. 

He always found the abrupt ending of a swinging rope haunting.

_ “You don’t want to die.” _

_ “You don’t want to die.” _

_ “You don’t want to die.” _

_ "I do." _

_ "Gavin?" _

Gavin blinked against the auras in his vision, dropping his fork with a clatter to the half-eaten plate. The hand on his leg extracted as Niles sat back, frowning as Gavin attempted to blink away the fog.

Fear bubbled through him as he stared at Niles. There was something about the guy that made his body scream to 'get away'. Something that made him assume he was safer on the edge of that bridge over the warm diner.

Gavin heard his name called as he shuffled off of the booth, scrubbing a palm into one of his eyes. A hand attempted to snare his wrist, but he was quick in ripping it away.

The bell above the door jingled as he shoved it open with his shoulder, stumbling out onto the sidewalk. He didn't look back. 

_ "You don’t want to die." _

"I do, I do."

A disturbed fear—a wrongness---settled into Gavin as his stumble turned into a jog. His lungs were on fire as he gasped in the biting, frigid air, trying to clear away the oily haze that was creeping into the corners of his vision.

What had Niles done to him? How could someone-- _ something _ \--have that level of suggestion. It was... terrifying and humiliating at the same time. 

A patch of ice caught one of his steps, sending him onto his ass with a cry. His palms ached where they’d scrapped on the cement---but existed as the pain he needed to clear his head. Scrambling onto his knees, Gavin pushed himself up and into an adjacent alley. He ducked behind a trashcan, slamming his back against a cold, brick wall as he fell into a crouch.

Fear continued to run cold through his veins as he caught his breath, head dropping onto his knees. Gavin was still trying to wrap his head around why he’d run—why those words had drawn forth a primal sense of danger. He half wondered if he’d already jumped—if Niles was some demon sent to get a bit of tormenting in before their trip to Hell.

Because whatever the fuck was going on, it all centered around—

Niles called to him from the entrance of the alley; pale hand braced against the wall. “Gavin.”

Gavin scrambled to his feet, hand dropping to the vacant holster at his hip. He’d left the gun and his badge at home in fear that some kids might pick it up from the river. “S-stay the fuck away from me,” he panted, breath coming out in hot puffs that floated up into the air.

Niles' lips pursed into a disappointed frown. No cloud of air appeared as a huff of disappointment blew out of his nose. “Gavin,” he said again, stepping into the alley. His broad shoulders blocked the streetlamp behind him, casting shadows across his pale face. Gavin swore Niles’ eyes were glowing faintly.

Shoving off the wall with his foot, Gavin made to bolt further in the alley. Instead, he found himself grabbed and slammed back into the brick wall. His wrists were pinned at either side of his head, hands stinging when forced against cold stone. Niles’ bodyweight boxed him in further, preventing him from kicking out in defense.

“I highly insist you  _ calm down _ ,” Niles murmured, voice dipping into that same velvety tone he’d employed at the diner.

Aura’s and blur started to prickle back into Gavin’s vision as he slowly relaxed in Niles’ grip. Steeling the last of his courage, Gavin threw his head back against the stone wall and tried screaming for help. “HHHHHEEEL— _ Mmf _ !”

Gavin’s screaming was cut short by a mouth crashing into his own. His wrists jerked in Niles’ iron hold as he was kissed, the rest of his body continuing to grow limp. His wrists were released by Niles, who caught his hips, holding him upright.

Gavin’s hands dropped to Niles’ shoulders, clenching into the fabric of the man’s coat as his brain swam. He was falling again, thrashing through boiling water as he slammed between frigid icecaps. He was filled with terror and need; Dread and desire. And through the fog, he felt himself push back into Niles’ advances, refusing to play the victim as he tried stealing his own pleasure.

The grip on his hips became almost painful as he was shoved tortuously back into the wall, crying out as a thigh pressed between his legs. One of Niles' hands released Gavin’s hip to press flat to his chest, over the pounding of his heart. He moaned as Nile’s thigh ground into him, gasping for breath against the man’s mouth before surging back in, wanting. Niles didn't appear to struggle for breath as he consumed Gavin's soul with his tongue alone.

A growl rumbled in Niles’ chest as Gavin bit as his lip challengingly. The hand at Gavin’s chest shot upward and yanked his head to the side with the painful fisting of his hair.

And everything stilled.

Gavin panted heatedly, limp against the wall as he surrendered himself to Niles’ mercy. His neck ached from the sharp angle his neck was forced into, adams apple bobbling as he swallowed. And Niles…

Niles simply stared at Gavin’s neck, lips parted and brows knit. His blue eyes appeared black into the shadows of the alley, though Gavin could still see a ring of ice around the blown-out pupils. The hand he had fisted into Gavin’s hair quivered as he struggled, panting heavily.

And between his lips, Gavin swore he saw the tips of fangs. 

“Niles…”

Niles' mouth snapped shut. “I… I apologize,” Nile forced out through gritted teeth, releasing Gavin’s hair as he took a step back. The hand at his hip rose to his shoulders, helping keep Gavin upright from his slouch on the wall. “I only wanted to keep you from screaming. I’m not sure what came over—“

“You like a vampire or something?” Gavin slurred, struggling not to fall back into the blissful nothingness dragging him towards the earth. The question appeared to surprise Niles as his grip on Gavin’s shoulders tightened minutely.

The surprise ebbed away into the soft pull of a smile. “Something like that.”

Gavin let out a curious noise from his throat. "The sparkling kind or the 'nocturnal-sun-burny' kind?”

Niles seemed to relax at the question, shaking his head as he adjusted his grip on the human. “The nocturnal-sun-burny kind.”

“Cool...  _ Cool, cool, cool, _ ” Gavin breathed, letting his eyes fall shut as his head lulled against the stone wall. A hand lifted to his cheek as an impromptu pillow, smoothing a thumb across his cheek. “Always thought vampires were hot, but,  _ fuck man _ , Twilight lost it by the third book.”

Niles sounded confused as Gavin fell into his arms. “I don’t underst—” The lingering fear in Gavin’s gut faded as a large palm smoothed soothingly across his back, and the world turned to black.

Getting eaten by a hot vampire seemed better than jumping off a bridge, anyway.

\----

Dying wasn’t as bad as Gavin had worried.

He never expected the embrace of Death to be a literal embrace of strong arms cradling him close as they drifted into the dark void. Didn’t expect the pale spectre of Death to smooth away his final breath with pale fingers or press cold lips to his temple. 

The hard chill of humanity faded as Death placed him into a loving, warm place. Bathed him in feathery down and a cushioned grave. Ran long fingers through his hair and whispered lovingly into his ear—

_ “Goodnight my dear.” _

\-----

And Gavin woke to the buzz of his phone. 

Shooting up from his pillow, Gavin’s comforter fell to his knees as he slapped a hand to his forehead. He felt like his bedroom was spinning, freehand curling into his sheets as he held on for the ride. The phone buzzed again, drawing a groan from the man. Sucking in a breath, Gavin swore he’d never drink again as he fumbled for the phone. 

> **<Love of my Life>** _( 8:45 AM)_ \- U better pick up ur cat when u get home. I love her but I will kill her if she yowls @ 2AM again.
> 
> **<Love of my Life>** _(8:47 AM)_ \- Drive home safe, bb boi <3 <3 <3
> 
> **<Love of my Life>** _(8:48 AM)_ – Bring me home a hot bridesmaid.

Gavin blinked blearily at the screen, trying to wrap his mind around the tiny smidge of wrongness that nagged the back of his mind. Dropping his phone onto the bed, Gavin dug his knuckles into one of his eyes and yawned. He felt…  _ good _ . The sort of good one felt when returning from a holiday or getting an extra hour of sleep. 

But given that Gavin hadn’t taken a proper holiday in years and remembered being awake well into the previous night, the feeling was troubling. Wait…

Scooping his phone back up, Gavin frowned at Tina’s texts as his hand rose to his head, scratching the nape of his neck. He’d asked Tina to watch his cat while he was attending a family wedding—and by family wedding he meant chucking himself off a bridge. How had he gotten home? Why was he... alive?

Glancing around, Gavin tensed as his eyes landed on a simple receipt left folded on his bedside stand. Cold dread dropped in his gut as he snagged in. "Holy shit."

It hadn't been a dream… He was even wearing the same clothes from the previous night—his coat and scarf folded politely on a nearby chair. 

Heat pooled in his gut as last night came flooding back. Throwing his legs over the edge of the bed, Gavin stumbled out into the main hub of his tiny flat, heart racing. No one was waiting around for him—although if Niles hadn’t been bullshitting about the "burning in the sun thing", it made sense. 

His wallet and keys were lying together on a small kitchen table and a note placed beside them. The penmanship on the simple note was beautiful.

‘I apologize for coming into your home uninvited. The myth about thresholds and vampires isn’t quite as truthful as many would believe. I suppose some of us are just overly polite. I found your address through your license and your keys on your person. It was a pleasure to meet you, Gavin. I’m sorry if I intruded on your plans.’

Niles.

Gavin swallowed as he re-read the note, thumb unconsciously following the swooping cursive of Niles’ signature. He expected himself to be horrified at falling prey or angry that he was still kicking it. But…

Warmth still rolled through his person. 

Glancing to his couch, Gavin frowned as he spotted the boxes he’d packed in the hope that it might lessen the burden for whoever cleared his apartment. In a moment of panic, he’d even scrubbed the shit out of every square-inch just in case he decided last second to go with a bullet. 

Dropping the note back to the table, Gavin let out a sigh and walked over the boxes, fishing through them until he located one labeled ‘bathroom’. Hoisting it under his arm, Gavin surveyed the remaining pile and decided to put them away after a shower and cup of coffee. 

His day was strangely relaxing. After putting all of his things back into their proper places, Gavin unfolded the boxes and tucked them away into a closet. He didn’t doubt he’d try again during his next low, and it would be nice to have the prelabeled boxes on hand. 

He retrieved his cat from Tina’s in the afternoon, sticking around to listen to all of the work gossip he’d missed over the few days he was away at the "wedding".

Tina didn’t seem that disappointed when her promised bridesmaid didn’t arrive in a goody bag. As he left, he half-wondered if she’d known what his real plans were as she watched him go with a ‘I’m really glad you’re home, Gav’. 

‘Me too, T.’

He went grocery shopping to restock on all the food he’d tossed a few days prior. He lingered a little too long in front of the pancake mixes and decided to try a brand with which he was unfamiliar. The sun was setting by the time he started to prepare breakfast-for-dinner, cat lounging on the counter at his elbow.

He ignored the swell of… _ something  _ that bubbled in his chest as he added cinnamon and three drops of vanilla extract—no more, no less. 

And as he ate, batting his cat’s paws away from his plate, Gavin found himself staring at the note that continued to sit at the table. 

It was dark when he finally made up his mind and grabbed his coat. The night was frigid and still by the time he emerged from his apartment complex and jumped on the bus. It wasn’t snowing anymore, and the sidewalks had been cleared with a fresh layer of salt. 

Getting off at a stop a block from his destination, Gavin shoved his hands into his pockets, nose deeper into his scarf, and strolled casually down the street. He could see the neon lights of the diner a block over, catching off the snow piled to the side of the road. 

And as he made it to the bridge, fighting a shiver, Gavin was unsurprised to find Niles leaning on the railing, looking down into the waters. He perked at the sound of footsteps and turned to Gavin with a smile. “Good Evening, Gavin. I was worried I’d missed you.”

“Yeah?” Gavin asked, heartbeat picking up speed as Niles pushed away from the railing. “Here to stop me again? More of that mindfuckery?”

Niles had the audacity to look sheepishly down to his toes, wringing his hands in front of him. “I apologize for that. I…. While my intentions were good, I may have overstepped. It can be difficult to reign it in... and I’m forced to choose my words carefully.”

Gavin walked over and took vigil at Niles’ elbow, leaning down against it. “And what were your intentions? To eat, help, or fuck me?”

Niles relaxed at his side, leaning down onto his arms as he made himself more level with Gavin. “Of course it was to help. I... My intentions were pure.”

"Pure, huh?" Gavin’s brows rose at the answer. “You tellin’ me you didn’t even want a taste of this?” He asked joking, motioning to his entire person with a smirk, jutting his hit out. “Not even a nibble?”

Niles chuckled, head dropping to look down at his hands. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious,” He murmured after a moment of thoughtful silence. “You were very… passionate last night.”

“Until I passed out on you,” Gavin pointed out.

“I didn’t mind,” Niles shrugged, lacing his fingers. His smile grew, deepening the dimple in his cheek as he watched Gavin with the tilt of his head. “You’re very clingy in your sleep. It was rather endearing.”

“Fuck off. Says the bloodsucker who molested me against a wall,” Gavin huffed, dropping head to hide the rising blush on his neck. Niles only chuckled at his side. 

They stood in silence after that, both men watching the waters as cars passed behind them. Gavin wondered if he were to climb the railing right now and let himself drop—would Niles stop him? Having the handsome stranger be his last living sight… That wouldn’t be too bad. 

“You wanna get a drink with me, Niles?” Gavin asked, turning around to lean against the railing. 

Niles’ brows rose, pushing up to his full height from his previous slouch. “Are you offering me another day, Gavin Reed?”

A shiver rattled up Gavin’s spine at the use of his full name, but it wasn’t due to the chilly night air. He hid his pounding heart behind a smile. “Eh, I’ll kill myself tomorrow. I want to hear more about your cryptid lifestyle. And you’re paying.”

Niles shook his head and stepped away from the railing. Offering Gavin his arm, the two turned and strolled casually away, back into the city. If Gavin leaned a little closer and if Niles’ arm found its way around Gavin’s back, neither fished for excuses. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not anticipate following this up but I hit a really bad writing rutt. This helped get me out of it. 
> 
> Special Thanks to [FallLover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallLover) for betaing this chapter! 
> 
> WARNING:
> 
> This chapter is heavy. The biggest warnings relate to:
> 
> -Dubious Consent/Rape  
-Major Character Death  
-Alcohol Abuse

Niles was a greedy, broken creature. He had always been. His turning had forced his lifestyle to change into that of a base predator: one who takes unconditionally. One who preys upon mortality for lifeblood and sustainability. 

Even before his turning, he’d been a proud man. A soldier. Medals and ribbons pinned to his breast. Prided himself in his cold disinterest as while cradling a brother-in-arms as they bled to death on the battlefield. There was no point in getting sentimental. It was dangerous to break apart with bullets flying overhead. 

His brother, _ true _brother, hadn’t shared his disposition—although Niles believed that disinterest might have been good for Connor. As a surgeon, Connor was forced to flirt with death far more than Niles. Noticing a body fall in the heat of a firefight was far different from pressing gauze to seeping wounds, praying that the pressure might save a life. 

Niles took lives and Connor saved them.

Two sides of the same, fucked-up coin. 

\----

Meeting at the bridge had become an unspoken tradition. It didn’t matter who showed up first. Niles would always turn to him with a smile and a nod towards the river. That smile would only grow as Gavin shrugged and nonchalantly suggest a “raincheck on jumping”. 

“Offering another day, then?” Niles hummed, holding out his arm as he stepped from the railing. 

“Generous.”

“All yours,” Gavin chuckled, pressing to the vampire’s side and sealing the deal with the kiss of their palms, fingers laced together. Neither had defined what their relationship was in the weeks they’d continued to meet. Gavin didn’t protest the gentle kisses pressed to his brow and Niles refused to comment about Gavin’s lingering gaze. 

Both felt comfortable in the ambiguity of their meetings. Pursuing anything beyond friendly intimacy seemed dangerous. The idea that Gavin might never seek his companionship again—or that he might miss Gavin at the bridge—did not sit well in his gut.

They would talk of insignificant things while they wandered, reveling in the sleepy solitude that came with the early hours. Most of the small talk revolved around Gavin’s daily life. Niles would ask after his cat and laugh softly to himself when a video was shoved under his nose. He hadn’t returned to Gavin’s apartment since their first meeting, but remembered the feline darting away at Niles’ appearance.

When asking about Gavin’s job, the conversation would mostly be filled with complaints about Officer-_ This _ or Detective- _ That _—and the particular, trivial things they’d done to piss Gavin off. Niles found the man’s colorful vocabulary and penchant for explosive rants endearing. 

But there were also the moments when asking about Gavin’s work that soured the mood. Those were the days where horrible things happened to good people, and Gavin was tasked with cleaning up the mess. Niles didn’t envy such work. Gavin would fumble for words, cast his eyes to the sidewalk beneath their feet, before glancing up with the suggestion 

“I’m gonna need a drink.”

\---

“You should talk to someone.”

Peacetime seemed like an illusion to Niles. There was a certain tense unease that settled into his bones upon landing back home. As much as his fellow soldiers celebrated the end of a war and the return to normal life, Niles felt… disillusioned. 

As young bachelors, Connor had insisted Niles move into his flat upon arriving in New York. While Niles’ job prospects were limited and plans of attending university delayed, Connor had quickly found a job at a local hospital. And he was happy. 

Niles didn’t understand much these days.

He didn’t understand why it was so difficult to will himself out of the apartment for the most menial task. He didn’t know why he was prepared for anyone—shop clerk, businessman, child—to attack him at a moment’s notice. He didn’t understand why the world felt fake, ready to fall away and reveal that the war was still raging. 

The anxiety was awful, but then… Moments like these occurred.

It was strange how quickly it had happened. Rationally, he knew that it had been a car backfiring in the street below his window. But his disillusioned mind went into overdrive. The acrid smell of mud and gun oil flooded his senses. Blood pounded in his ears and roared like the thundering sound of a bomb tearing through the air. Every tremor felt like the world rocking, knocking him to his ass upon the kitchen tile. 

Connor had been the one to find him curled up against the stove, legs drawn to his chest as he made himself as small as possible. He panicked when hands grabbed his wrists, and cried out when his hands were forced away from his face. 

It took some time between coaxing and following commands to breathe for the battlefield to fall away and reveal only Connor’s worried gaze. Connor’s eyes were heavy with exhaustion, since he’d just gotten home from a long shift at the hospital. Niles felt… guilty. 

“What did you say?” Niles asked against Connor’s shoulder as he was pulled into a hug, forced onto his knees as his body uncurled. 

“You should talk to someone,” Connor repeated against his hair, rubbing circles into Niles’ tense shoulder. “I’ve… I’ve met soldiers who experience things like this at the hospital. You’re not alone, Niles.”

Niles didn’t reply to Connor’s suggestion, neither offering acceptance or dismissal. He simply continued to count his breaths in their silent embrace, trying to chase away the tremors in his arms. 

  
  


\----

“You should talk to someone.”

Gavin snorted. “I’m talking to you, aren’t I?”

Niles didn’t reply as a cocktail waitress returned to the table, placing a new beer down and taking up Gavin’s old glass. He continued to wave off any order requests. The bar they’d ended up at was next to a small hotel. Most of the patrons were sleepy businessmen, taking the edge off before retiring to their rooms next door. 

“I am not a professional,” Niles finally murmured, lacing his fingers on top of the table as Gavin took a tentative sip. 

The detective let out the short huff of a laugh as he licked foam from his lips. “I’ve seen professionals. They don’t help.” Gavin shrugged, meeting Niles’ eyes across the table before watching bubbles climb the sides of his glass. “Aren’t you the one who ‘seeks company in lost souls’?”

Niles allowed himself a small smile as he thought back to their first meeting. Guilt still lingered regarding the callous use of power he’d displayed that night, but Gavin seemed to have forgiven him. “I can only offer the comfort of conversation.”

“Talking is enough,” Gavin assured him, picking up his glass for a tentative sip. “I… I’m not as tough as I look. I’ve been in law enforcement for over a decade, a detective for five, but… Fuck. Seeing the shit people do to each other for no reason… It never gets easier.”

Niles dipped his head in a nod, gaze dropping to his pale knuckles. “You remind me of my brother.”

“You have a brother?”

“Older brother,” Niles said with a nod, unlacing his fingers to pick idly at his nails. “A surgeon. I don’t remember a time Connor didn’t weep for someone he couldn’t save on his table.”

“I don’t weep.”

Niles chuckled, lifting his gaze to the tired detective sitting across from him. “But you care. You remember the face of every victim you’ve come across, don’t you?”

Gavin didn’t reply, lips pulling into a sad frown as he traced patterns into the condensation on his glass. 

Niles watched him, resting his chin on his hands as his eyes fall half-lidded. “Even before I was… turned, I struggled to empathize with anyone. And after becoming _ this _, empathy is dangerous. I’m not a good person.”

“Neither am I,” Gavin chuckled softly. 

Niles shook his head. “I think you’re wonderful.”

“Shut up,” Gavin huffed, ducking his head to hide his blush while scratching at the nape of his neck. After a few moments of amused silence, Gavin found the nerve to look back up. “Where’s Connor now?”

“Not here.” Niles’ amusement disappeared, replaced with a hollow coldness that curled around his still heart. “… Long ago… I made choices that Connor did not approve of. I pushed him away and… he never stopped trying to help me.” 

\----

The grip around his wrist was painfully tight as his arm was thrown across bony shoulders. The night air was cool on his face, tickling beneath the collar of his jacket. Every sway and stumble spilled more giggles from Niles lips’, shoulders shaking with drunken amusement.

“Niles…”

♪ When I was just a little girl

I asked my mother, what will I be

Will I be pretty

Will I be rich

Here’s what she said to me ♫

He could feel Connor sigh against his side, adjusting his grip on his brother. But Niles felt too damn good to give in to the needling guilt that lingered beneath the happy burn in his gut. No one paid the two any mind as they stumbled away from the bar, one seething while the other belted loudly and terribly off-key.

♪ Que será, será

Whatever will be, will be

The future’s not ours to see

Que será, será

What will be, will be ♫

Niles burst into another fit of laughter as he was deposited on a bench, vision swimming as he stared up at a panting Connor. Under the beam of a nearby streetlamp and the lingering light of dusk, Niles could see green scrubs beneath Connor’s jacket. Exhaustion pulled lines beneath his eyes, aging him. 

A wave of nausea snubbed some of Niles’ jovial amusement, forcing him to drop his head to ride it out. Connor’s shoes scraped against the pavement of the sidewalk as he took a step forward. “Look at me, Niles.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Niles tried to focus on the cold evening air as he waited for his stomach to settle. His previous belting became a whispered mantra in an attempt to relax against the sick rising in his throat. “Que será, será…”

Niles groaned as his chin was grabbed and forced to look towards a crouching Connor. Worry knitted the man’s brow as his gaze flickered over Niles’ face. “Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?” Connor whispered with a huff. “Four bars, Niles! I’ve been walking around for hours and—! “

“Coooonnor,” Nile sing-songed, reaching up to pat playfully at his brother’s very unamused face. 

“You worry too much. I was fine.” 

“You were hugging the bar’s toilet,” Connor hissed, slapping Niles’ hands away when they began to pinch at his cheeks.

Niles smiled, letting his arms fall between his knees. “I got it out of my system.”

Connor rolled his eyes. “You’re still incredibly drunk, Niles. You didn’t get anything out of—“

“I’m happy.”

He could see Connor’s frown through his swimming vision, hands dropping from Niles’ face to his shoulders as he swayed forward, keeping him on the bench. The pleasant chill had begun to eat through his jacket, sending soft shivers through his shoulders. The bubbling happiness ebbed away as his cheeks grew warm. 

“I’m happy,” Niles breathed again, voice coming out in a sad whine. “Why can’t you let me be happy, Connor? Just for a few hours.”

“This is not happiness,” Connor murmured, curling his fingers into the lapels of Niles’ jacket to draw it further around him. “This is self-destruction.”

As the first tear escaped down his cheek, Niles grit his teeth. “This is coping!” He hissed, pathetically wrenching a shoulder back in an attempt to free himself from Connor’s hands. He failed. “I can’t… I-I can’t sleep. I’m afraid of everybody I pass on the street. I’m… I’m alone.”

After a moment of silence, Connor released a softly crying Niles. Shame crept through him as the tears continued to fall, washing away the pleasant buzz upon which he’d been desperately clinging. A body settled to his side and an arm pulled him closer. 

“You’ve never been alone, Niles,” Connor murmured above him as Niles curled into him. “You have me.”

“I’m broken,” Niles whispered, half-laughing, half-sobbing into Connor’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t have to deal with my… my….”

“Niles,” Connor interrupted, voice stern but lacking any sign of anger. “I would search the entire city for you if push-came-to-shove. I will never be ashamed to call you my brother.”

“You should be.”

“Well, I’m not.” 

Niles snorted, raising a hand to dig his knuckles into his eyes. “I’m going to let you down again.”

“Probably,” Connor hummed, leaning back to look at the last dregs of sun lingering over the edges of the city. “But I’ll be there for you, come hell or high water.”

\----

“I don’t understand you.”

Gavin’s voice vibrated through Niles’ collar as he leaned bodily against the vampire. It had taken a bit of effort to fish the key’s from Gavin’s pocket—and even more to unlock the door while balancing the human at his side. 

When Gavin had failed to show up to the bridge, Niles had been admittedly worried. It wasn’t that he expected Gavin to sacrifice his own life to meet at the bridge, but he’d usually given a warning ahead of time. Niles doubted that Gavin had finally given in to his urge to jump—although that hadn’t stopped him from glancing toward the rapid waters for answers. 

It had been surprisingly easy to find Gavin holed up in a bar near the precinct he worked, nursing a glass. Shame had colored his expression upon noticing Niles in the entrance of the bar. The vampire did not pry when he’d taken a seat, nor as he sat at Gavin’s side in silence, watching him go through drink after drink. 

Eventually, as the bartender cut him off and Niles took his arm to help him up, the answer he had been looking for tumbled from Gavin’s lips with a wet sob. “That fucker killed a kid, Niles. She was a kid.”

Pushing open the door, Niles readjusted his hold on a stumbling Gavin as he pulled him inside. Gavin’s cat launched from her perch on the couch, fleeing deeper into the apartment. 

“What do you even want?” Gavin moaned, head dropping as he was propped up against a wall. Niles let out a sigh through his nose as he pulled the jacket from around Gavin’s shoulders, hanging it on a hook near the door. His own coat and shoes followed, pale eyes watching as the detective slid slowly down the wall. Niles pulled him back up before he could hit the floor.

“Come, my dear.” 

Gavin continued to stumble as he was led down the hall to his room, arms acting as leads as Niles held his wrists in a gentle vice. “What do you want,” Gavin repeated, voice slurring into a desperate whisper as he was steered toward the bed. His eyes remained half-lidded as he watched Niles fall to his knees, gently working free the laces of his boots. 

“I want to help you.”

“I don’t want help.”

“Yet you keep meeting with me,” Niles hummed, placing the boots to the side and leaning closer. When Gavin continued to remain a sack of potatoes, watching him with confusion and irritation swimming in his expression, Niles sighed. _ “Lift your arms, dear.” _

A full-body shiver ran up Gavin’s spin at the instruction, lifting his arms enough for Niles to pull the sweatshirt over his head, leaving him bared. The detective continued to quiver as Niles stared down at his chest, cool eyes flickering over the various raised scars that history had peppered across his skin. Niles could see Gavin’s face color with shame, eyes dropping away and teeth gnawing his lip.

Had this been a soberer occasion, Niles might have attempted to chase away Gavin’s insecurities with his own human scars. Two bullet holes in his shoulder. A pale, white scar across his thigh. Even long dead, Niles was sure shrapnel existed in his ribs. While he understood the often shameful history that scars told, Niles looked back on them fondly. 

“If not help, what are _ you _ after?” Niles asked, watching a warm flush chase up Gavin’s neck as a thumb passed over a scar at his hip. “Need I remind you that it takes two to tango. You come to the bridge of your own volition.” 

“I want—“ Gavin cut himself off as Niles’ hands fell to his belt, unlatching and unlooping it with unfair ease. “I want to _ feel _ something.”

Niles frowned, coaxing Gavin back onto the bed after shimmying him out of his jeans. He watched as the detective’s eyes fell shut, head lulling against the sheets. The skin beneath his eyes was puffy from the silent tears that ran down his cheeks during their stumble home. 

“I want you.”

Allowing his eyes to fall open, Gavin rolled his head to stare up at the vampire folding his pants. Niles was not blind to the increase in the human’s heartbeat as his blood pumped faster. It was hard to ignore the primal hunger that perpetually rolled through his gut, gaze falling to the steady pulse in Gavin’s neck. 

“Gavin.”

“Please,” Gavin pleaded, shifting up to fist is hands into the fabric of Niles’ jacket, pulling him closer. Niles allowed himself to be led along, knee pressing into the mattress as he was pulled over the other man. “I-I want to forget. I just want to forget for just a little while.”

Niles frowned as Gavin released him in favor of running his hands up his chest, fingers lingering on the cold skin of his neck. Pulling him down by the back of his head, Gavin pressed a chaste kiss to the corner of Niles’ mouth. 

“I can’t help you like that, dear,” Niles whispered, bracing his hands on either side of Gavin’s head. More kissed trailed away from his mouth, following the sharp curve of his jaw. Gavin continued his soft pleading between kisses, fingers curling gently into the vampire’s hair. 

With a sigh, Nile allowed himself one moment of selfishness as he pressed his mouth to Gavin’s, smoothing a thumb across his cheek. _ “Go to sleep, dear.” _ As Gavin’s body relaxed instantly beneath him, Niles pressed one last kiss to his forehead before rolling to lay at his side. 

A glance towards the window indicated he had a few hours until sunrise. He would risk it.

\-----

Niles remembered cold eyes watching from across the bar and long fingers pressing into the small of his back. He remembered short conversation and thin lips pressing into his rapid pulse as he was pushed into the hard brick exterior outside. But the moment that voice against his ear dropped in timbre and the words coaxed shivers down his spine, Niles’ mind fell into a swirl of color and need. 

_ “Give yourself to me.” _

_ “Take me to your bed.” _

_ “Forget yourself.” _

Niles’ mind felt like puddy as he gasped against a cold shoulder. Every shift of flesh, every press of lips to his jaw had him seeing stars. His nails bit crescents into his partner’s shoulder as he was rocked into, legs splayed into the disorderly sheets at the end of his bed. 

_ “Open yourself up to me.” _

“Please,” Niles pleaded, jaw falling open as the next thrust into him had pleasure rocketing through his body. One of his hands extracted from their clawed perch to yank at the dark knot of hair above him. “E-Elijah.”

Elijah’s head dipped to chuckle against his ear, hands seeking out Niles’ thighs to spread them impossibly further apart. “What do you want, darling?”

A low moan was pulled out of Niles as Elijah’s pace slowed, turning his attention to licking a line up Nile’s neck. His teeth needled at Niles’ pulse, sucking a bruise into the pale flesh. Releasing Elijah’s hair, Niles dropped his arm to his face, hiding his eyes with the back of his hand. 

He gasped as Elijah’s next thrust had him digging his heels into the mattress. “I-I want…”

Elijah chuckled against his throat. _ “Tell me what you want.” _

“I want… I want to be happy. I want to forget.”

The hum that left Elijah’s lips rumbled against Niles’ neck, sending goosebumps across his skin. Niles grit his teeth as his wrist was grabbed and forced to the mattress above his head. A shudder raked through his shoulders as Elijah stared down at him, eyes glowing in the pale streetlight bleeding through Niles’ blind. 

“What would you do to forget?” Elijah asked, smiling as he thrust into Niles once more and elicited a garbled moan. “What would you sacrifice?”

“A-Anything. Everything.”

Elijah continued to watch him, smile setting into a soft, contemplative smirk. Releasing Niles’ wrist, Elijah’s fingers traced Niles’ jaw, smoothing a thumb across kiss-swollen lips. “Beautiful.”

Niles threw his head back as Elijah’s pace picked up, digging in fingers into the sheets above his head. 

_ “I will own all of you.” _

“Yes.”

_ “You will find happiness in me.” _

“Yes.”

_ “Come for me, darling.” _

As Niles spilled over the edge and light streaked across his already foggy mind, a sharp pain punctured his throat. 

And everything went dark.

\-----

“N-N-Niles.”

“Please stop moving, dear.”

Warm blood pooled through Niles’ fingers as he pressed his palm against the wound. A wet whine passed Gavin’s lips as he threw his head back against concrete, tears rolling down his cheeks. 

Need curled through Niles’ gut as Gavin’s blood continued to spill, puddling beneath him on the alley floor. When Gavin hadn’t shown up at the bridge some hours ago, Niles had given into his worry by wandering in the direction of the detective’s apartment. 

Niles’ pace had picked up at the distant pop of gunfire upon nearing the neighborhood. Whether cruel fate or cosmic coincidence, Niles chased the sound of retreating footsteps and found Gavin curled in on himself. 

“R-r-responding officer,” Gavin had admitted, apology unspoken in his pained gasps. “I-I-I was t-the closest.”

Sirens sounded in the distance, but Niles paid little mind as all of his attention focused on the task before him. No matter the pressure he applied, blood continued to seep from the twin bullet holes in Gavin’s gut. 

“S-stop,” Niles whispered as he met Gavin’s eyes and the small smile on his face. A hand smoothed across the vampire’s cheek. “Stop moving. Please.”

“I don’t think…I don’t think I want to jump anymore,” Gavin whispered, grunting as he tried to shift up; to try and pull himself closer to his distraught partner. 

A sob bubbled past Niles’ lips as Gavin slipped back to the alley floor, unable to support his own weight. Reaching up, Niles pressed his own wrist into his mouth and dug his sharp canines into an ancient artery. Dark blood began to flow down his pale arm, gurgling forth with reckless abandon. 

“Stay with me,” Niles begged, using his uninjured arm to pull Gavin up against him. The detective’s nose wrinkled as the bloody wrist was presented to his lips, smearing across his jaw. 

With a gasp of effort, Gavin reached up to push Niles’ arm away. “I-I don’t…. I don’t want that life,” He whispered, eyes falling half-lidded as his body began to relax in the vampire’s arms. “Immortality…I-It seems… so incredibly… sad.”

“Gavin, please,” Niles begged as a dark tear followed the curve on his nose.

“I-I’m sorry,” Gavin whispered, eyes rolling into the back of his head.

_ “Gavin!” _

\----

_ “N-Niles!” _

Fingers clawed at his shoulders and face, shoving against his bodyweight. Pleading words and desperate gurgles bled into a pounding heartbeat buzzing in his ears. Warm blood painted slick rivers down his chest as he continued to bite into warm flesh, unable to keep up with the rapid flow. 

Raw need and pleasure coursed through him as Niles took, moaning as the body beneath his own began to weaken. The nails biting in his face softened into desperate grasping before ultimately falling away. 

_ “Drink, darling. Take your fill.” _

Elijah coaxed fingers through his hair, raking gentle nails against his scalp as he bit deeper into the fluttering pulse. 

“N-Ni--”

As the heartbeat fell away to silence, Niles sat back onto his heels, blinking against his swimming vision. Pleasure continued to flutter through his full, sated gut, and a moan pulled from his lips as he licked the sticky wetness from his fingers.

But as his mind settled and his vision cleared, that pleasure solidified into cold horror as he stared down at body beneath his thighs. Connor’s mouth remained frozen in a muted scream as his warm eyes stared up into nothingness. 

Elijah remained silent through Niles’ screams. Did nothing as his fledgling begged and pleaded, pressing a seeping wrist to Connor’s cold lips. 

“Save him!” Niles sobbed, crimson tears painting through the blood coating his jaw. “I don’t want this!”

Elijah only smiled, offering Niles a hand to help him to his feet. “Anything and everything, you said. This is the price we pay. Let’s be on our way, darling.”

\----

  
  


Breaking into the ICU past visiting hours had been simple. Only one nurse had attempted to stop him, but had been easily deterred with a smile and the careful suggestion that _ ‘another cup of coffee would be nice, yes?’. _

That had been some hours ago, before he’d found Gavin’s name on a clipboard at the door and secured a silent vigil in the corner of the room. Wires and tubing disappeared beneath the soft blue of Gavin’s hospital gown. The pastel shade and dimmed lights of the hospital room did no favors to the detective’s pale skin and dark marks painted beneath his eyes.

Niles remained quiet, listening to the soft rise and fall of Gavin’s breathing and the short beeps of the heart monitor at his side. The need to get closer and the desire to escape had him locked against the wall for some time. He had been nowhere close to a decision when Gavin’s breathing stuttered, and his eyes blinked open.

It took some time before Gavin’s eyes found him and narrowed with tired recognition. 

“Hey.”

“Hello.”

“You… stalking me, Niles?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“You could get a better look over here.”

Niles hesitated, shoulders tensing as Gavin grunted as he raised his hand, silently beckoning. Biting his lip, Niles unlocked his limbs and walked over to take the offered hand, running a thumb across Gavin’s knuckles. 

The bed dipped as Niles sat on the edge, staring down at the hand in his own. His fingers passed reverently across Gavin’s palm, tracing every pulsing vein. 

Alive. Gavin was alive. 

“Hey.”

Niles glanced up, meeting Gavin’s tired gaze and soft frown. “Yes, dear?”

“I’m okay,” Gavin’s murmured, twisting his wrist to take Niles’ hand into his own. “I’m okay.”

Niles nodded, ducking his head once more to stare at the warm hand enclosed around his own. 

Gavin gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m sorry.”

Niles shook his head. “You had no reason to--”

“Living for eternity with you doesn’t seem too back,” Gavin interrupted, lips quirking into a soft smile. “It was cruel… what I said.”

“It was cruel what I offered,” Niles countered, pulling Gavin’s hand up to kiss at his knuckles. 

Gavin hummed briefly before he shifted to his side with a grunt. A gentle tug on Niles’ arm coaxed him to lay at Gavin’s shoulder, settling a cheek against Gavin’s warm collar. 

“Then let’s take it one day at a time,” Gavin suggested, voice rumbling against Niles’ ear. Niles’ eyes fell shut as a pair of lips pressed into his hairline. 

Niles squeezed Gavin’s hand, pulling their clasped palms between them. “Whatever will be, will be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can follow me at [@phckpence](https://twitter.com/phckpence)
> 
> I would also like to suggest checking out the discord server [Detroit: New ERA](https://discord.gg/GqvNzUm). It is filled with a bunch of incredible writers, artists, creators, and fans who have been a joy to meet. You'll usually find me in word wars, though, pressuring myself to write.

**Author's Note:**

> You can follow me at [@phckpence](https://twitter.com/phckpence)
> 
> I would also like to suggest checking out the discord server [Detroit: New ERA](https://discord.gg/GqvNzUm). It is filled with a bunch of incredible writers, artists, creators, and fans who have been a joy to meet. You'll usually find me in word wars, though, pressuring myself to write.


End file.
